Carver PM-1200 and PM 1.5 - Question about damping

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I had issues with my amps and had great help and support, and once again I have a question, the damping spec on these amps are 200, I was wondering if it would be possible to kick it a notch, I have a BGW here with a damping of 600 and I do notice I difference on how the amp reacts on low freq., especially at low volume, the bgw has more warmth and the bass is more present, so I was wondering if it were possible to modify this at the input gain section of the amp...

Thanks...
 
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Hi pjaneiro,
Nice amp (the BGW).

There are more things to the sound of an amplifier than damping factor. Now, consider the effective output impedance (8/200). That's trying to tell me 0.04 ohms. The BGW is sitting around 0.013333333... ohms.

Both of these numbers are probably swamped by cable and connection resistance. If there is a crossover involved, don't even look at those numbers.

Therefore it's not the damping factor alone. It has to do with the power supply and amplifier design itself. So many things. The Carver design does some things exceedingly well, and they are very efficient. The BGW will sound and behave differently. I like those as well. However, in my living room I normally listen to a Marantz. Different gear for different jobs.

-Chris
 
Yeah I know, not all amps are designed the same...But I was using the same source for both amps and of course same speakers, I know bgw's are renown for their bass output, even if the bgw is less powerful, the bass coming out of it makes it sound a lot more :D , but is there a way to boost the damping on these amps ? I had read somewhere that some of the earlier pm 1.5's had variable damping, so I don’t know, I am digging into unfamiliar territory, so I need help, but to start I don't even know if it's remotely feasible...

Thanks
 
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Hi pjaneiro,
It's not possible to increase the damping factor on your Carver. That would involve parallel outputs (like some of their later home amps) and possibly higher open loop gain. You really do not want to go there.

One last thing to check would be the high rail caps. Also, your AC supply will make a difference. Good supply = good power, the opposite holds true as well.

So, it is what it is. Play with direct supplies from the panel but it may just be the nature of the beast.

-Chris
 
Parrallel output heh !, that seems interesting, i might actually give it a shot, I do have an extra power supply for the pm 1200, so i might use that one for the extra power, i'll check out the schematics and see which ones needs to be matched, i'll post my results shortly...
 
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Hi pjaneiro,
I'm thinking that you don't want to try this. Those supplies are going to fight each other possibly.

Doubling up on the outputs would only half the DF at best. Given the low value of emitter resistors, you have to match the outputs carefully.

I don't think you should do this. The amps are just different. Please accept that.

-Chris
 
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